Nine Genes Mediate the Therapeutic Effects of Iodine-131 Radiotherapy in Thyroid Carcinoma Patients

Understanding of Endomucin: a Multifaceted Glycoprotein Functionality in Vascular Inflammatory-Related Diseases, Bone Diseases and Cancers

Endomucin (MUC14), encoded by EMCN gene, is an O-glycosylated transmembrane mucin that is mainly found in venous endothelial cells (ECs) and highly expressed in type H vessels of bone tissue. Its main biological functions include promoting endothelial generation and migration through the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway and inhibiting the adhesion of inflammatory cells to ECs. In addition, it induces angiogenesis and promotes bone formation. Due to the excellent functions of Endomucin in the above aspects, it provides a new research target for the treatment of vascular inflammatory-related diseases and bone diseases. Based on the current understanding of its function, the research of Endomucin mainly focuses on the above two diseases. As it is known, the progression of cancer is closely related to angiogenesis. Endomucin recently is found to be differentially expressed in a variety of tumors and correlated with survival rate. The biological role of Endomucin in cancer is opaque. This article introduces the research progress of Endomucin in vascular inflammatory-related diseases and bone diseases, discusses its application value and prospect in the treatment, and collects the latest research situation of Endomucin in tumors, to provide meaningful evidence for expanding the research field of Endomucin.

The clinical and histopathological characteristics of thyroid gland diseases in adolescents requiring surgical treatment: a ten-year follow-up study

The present research aimed to determine the clinical and pathohistological characteristics of thyroid gland diseases in adolescents who were previously surgically treated at the Endocrine Surgery Center of the University Medical Center of Serbia from 01/01/2001 to 01/01/2011. The study covered 170 patients of both sexes from the population of adolescents (aged 16 to 20 years) with various malignant and benign thyroid gland diseases. The data for this study were extracted from the medical histories of patients and the electronic database of the Center for Endocrine Surgery. Detailed data analysis included diagnosis, symptomatology, surgical intervention type, and disease stage. The following thyroid status parameters were analyzed from preoperative data: thyroxine (T4), thyroxine free fraction (FT4), triiodothyronine (T3), triiodothyronine free fraction (FT3), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). In addition, the pathohistological features of diagnosed thyroid diseases were also determined, with a special focus on the presence of well-differentiated cancers. Papillary carcinomas were the most common of well-differentiated cancers in adolescents over the ten-year follow-up period. Based on the assessed data, total thyroidectomy was the most commonly used type of surgical intervention in these patients. The conducted research provides essential information related to both the biological characteristics and diagnostics of these cancers and their surgical treatment in such a sensitive population. Moreover, research showed that the clinical presentation of thyroid cancer in adolescents is almost identical to that in adults.

New molecular targets in canine hemangiosarcoma-Comparative review and future of the precision medicine

Human angiosarcoma and canine hemangiosarcoma reveal similarities not only in their aggressive clinical behaviour, but especially in molecular landscape and genetic alterations involved in tumorigenesis and metastasis formation. Currently, no satisfying treatment that allows for achieving long overall survival or even prolonged time to progression does not exist. Due to the progress that has been made in targeted therapies and precision medicine the basis for a new treatment design is to uncover mutations and their functions as possible targets to provide tailored drugs for individual cases. Whole exome or genome sequencing studies and immunohistochemistry brought in the last few years important discoveries and identified the most common mutations with probably crucial role in this tumour development. Also, despite a lack of mutation in some of the culprit genes, the cancerogenesis cause may be buried in main cellular pathways connected with proteins encoded by those genes and involving, for example, pathological angiogenesis. The aim of this review is to highlight the most promising molecular targets for precision oncology treatment from the veterinary perspective aided by the principles of comparative science. Some of the drugs are only undergoing laboratory in vitro studies and others entered the clinic in the management of other cancer types in humans, but those used in dogs with promising responses have been mentioned as priorities.

Identification of a 5-gene-risk score model for predicting luminal A-invasive lobular breast cancer survival

Breast cancer is a devastating malignancy, among which the luminal A (LumA) breast cancer is the most common subtype. In the present study, we used a comprehensive bioinformatics approach in the hope of identifying novel prognostic biomarkers for LumA breast cancer patients. Transcriptomic profiling of 611 LumA breast cancer patients was downloaded from TCGA database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between tumor samples and controls were first identified by differential expression analysis, before being used for the weighted gene co-expression network analysis. The subsequent univariate Cox regression and LASSO algorithm were used to uncover key prognostic genes for constructing multivariate Cox regression model. Patients were stratified into high-risk and low-risk groups according to the risk score, and subjected to multiple downstream analyses including survival analysis, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), inference on immune cell infiltration and analysis of mutation burden. Receiving operator curve analysis was also performed. A total of 7071 DEGs were first identified by edgeR package, pink module was found significantly associated with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). 105 prognostic genes and 9 predictors were identified, allowing the identification of a 5-key prognostic genes (LRRC77P, CA3, BAMBI, CABP1, ATP8A2) after intersection. These 5 genes, and the resulting Cox model, displayed good prognostic performance. Furthermore, distinct differences existed between two risk-score stratified groups at various levels. The identified 5-gene prognostic model will help deepen the understanding of the molecular and immunological mechanisms that affect the survival of LumA-ILC patients and guide and proper monitoring of these patients.

The clinical significance of thyroid hormone-responsive in thyroid carcinoma and its potential regulatory pathway

The study aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of thyroid hormone-responsive (THRSP) and explore its relevant pathways in thyroid carcinoma (THCA). The gene expression data of THRSP were obtained and the prognostic significance of THRSP in THCA was analyzed through various bioinformatics databases. Then, the factors influencing THRSP mRNA expression were explored, and the function of THRSP in predicting the lymph node metastasis (LNM) stage was determined. We further performed the enrichment analysis and constructed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network to examine potential regulatory pathways associated with THRSP. THRSP gene expression was significantly increased in THCA compared with the normal tissues. High THRSP mRNA expression had a favorable overall survival (OS) in THCA patients (P < .05). Additionally, the mRNA expression of THRSP was related to stage, histological subtype, and methylation among THCA patients (all P < .05). Besides, THRSP served as a potent predictor in discriminating the LNM stage of thyroid cancer patients. According to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) on THRSP-associated genes, THRSP was positively related to metabolic pathways. The upregulation of THRSP predicted a good OS in THCA patients. Furthermore, THRSP might inhibit THCA progression through positive regulation of metabolism-associated pathways.

The Impact of Iodine Concentration Disorders on Health and Cancer

Iodine deficiency is an ongoing problem. The implementation of salt iodization has significantly reduced the effects of iodine deficiency worldwide in recent years, and the remaining iodine deficiency is mild to moderate. Iodine is an essential substrate for the synthesis of thyroid hormones in the thyroid gland. It can also act as an antioxidant, as well as an anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic factor. Pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children are particularly affected by iodine deficiency. It leads to thyroid diseases and metabolic and developmental disorders, as well as cancer. However, an excessive iodine intake may, similarly to iodine deficiency, lead to the development of goiter, and toxic amounts of iodine can lead to thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism, and hypothyroidism, and even to the development of papillary thyroid cancer. Correcting iodine deficiency potentially reduces the chance of developing malignancies. Additional research is needed to better understand both the effect of iodine on carcinogenesis and the clinical outcome of iodine deficiency compensation on cancer patients' prognosis. The upcoming public health challenge appears to be reducing salt consumption, which could result in a lower iodine intake. Thus, an iodine enrichment vehicle other than salt could be considered if salt iodine levels are not increased to compensate, and urine iodine levels should be monitored more frequently.

A Potential Nine-lncRNAs Signature Identification and Nomogram Diagnostic Model Establishment for Papillary Thyroid Cancer

The purpose of our current study was to establish a long non-coding RNA(lncRNA) signature and assess its prognostic and diagnostic power in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). LncRNA expression profiles were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The key module and hub lncRNAs related to PTC were determined by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and LASSO Cox regression analyses, respectively. Functional enrichment analyses, including Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and gene set enrichment analysis were implemented to analyze the possible biological processes and signaling pathways of hub lncRNAs. Associations between key lncRNA expressions and tumor-infiltrating immune cells were identified using the TIMER website, and proportions of immune cells in high/low risk score groups were compared. Kaplan-Meier Plotter was used to evaluate the prognostic significance of hub genes in PTC. A diagnostic model was conducted with logistic regression analysis, and its diagnostic performance was assessed by calibration/receiver operating characteristic curves and principal component analysis. A nine-lncRNAs signature (SLC12A5-AS1, LINC02028, KIZ-AS1, LINC02019, LINC01877, LINC01444, LINC01176, LINC01290, and LINC00581) was established in PTC, which has significant diagnostic and prognostic power. Functional enrichment analyses elucidated the regulatory mechanism of the nine-lncRNAs signature in the development of PTC. This signature and expressions of nine hub lncRNAs were correlated with the distributions of tumor infiltrating immune cells. A diagnostic nomogram was also established for PTC. By comparing with the published models with less than or equal to nine lncRNAs, our signature showed a preferable performace for prognosis prediction. In conclusion, our present research established an innovative nine-lncRNAs signature and a six-lncRNAs nomogram that might act as a potential indicator for PTC prognosis and diagnosis, which could be conducive to the PTC treatment.

Integrative Analysis of Multi-Omics Identified the Prognostic Biomarkers in Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

Background

Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is a common pediatric malignancy in children younger than 15 years old. Although the overall survival (OS) has been improved in recent years, the mechanisms of AML remain largely unknown. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the differentially methylated genes and to investigate the underlying mechanism in AML initiation and progression based on the bioinformatic analysis.

Methods

Methylation array data and gene expression data were obtained from TARGET Data Matrix. The consensus clustering analysis was performed using ConsensusClusterPlus R package. The global DNA methylation was analyzed using methylationArrayAnalysis R package and differentially methylated genes (DMGs), and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using Limma R package. Besides, the biological function was analyzed using clusterProfiler R package. The correlation between DMGs and DEGs was determined using psych R package. Moreover, the correlation between DMGs and AML was assessed using varElect online tool. And the overall survival and progression-free survival were analyzed using survival R package.

Results

All AML samples in this study were divided into three clusters at k = 3. Based on consensus clustering, we identified 1,146 CpGs, including 40 hypermethylated and 1,106 hypomethylated CpGs in AML. Besides, a total 529 DEGs were identified, including 270 upregulated and 259 downregulated DEGs in AML. The function analysis showed that DEGs significantly enriched in AML related biological process. Moreover, the correlation between DMGs and DEGs indicated that seven DMGs directly interacted with AML. CD34, HOXA7, and CD96 showed the strongest correlation with AML. Further, we explored three CpG sites cg03583857, cg26511321, cg04039397 of CD34, HOXA7, and CD96 which acted as the clinical prognostic biomarkers.

Conclusion

Our study identified three novel methylated genes in AML and also explored the mechanism of methylated genes in AML. Our finding may provide novel potential prognostic markers for AML.